GE SALES TEAM 1/2 DAY TEAM BONDING

 

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This small group of 10 from GE was having a meeting in Vancouver. Since this workgroup is geographically spread throughout North America, the manager decided that she would like to have a teambuilding session where participants would get to know each other and develop greater mutual understanding and respect.

She was looking for something that would get them out and active as well as provide material for a debrief at the end. Two of us flew to Vancouver to put the program together.

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Vancouver provides an excellent backdrop for our High Tech Quest. Teams were issued quest instructions, GPS receivers, compasses and score sheets. This program didn't have a specific theme, but it could've been called "Planes Trains and Automobiles" because of all the different modes of transportation involved.

Participants started by taking the transit bus towards Stanley Park at which point they had to find somewhere to look at a web page. A local internet café gave then access and the website gave them directions to a local bike rental shop. Here they picked up mountain bikes and followed a clue trail that led them into Stanley Park to complete a challenge amidst the beauty of the old-growth forest.

After returning their mountain bikes, they needed to find their way to the Science Center. This involved getting on the sky train at the nearest sky train station and then getting off at the stop next to the Science Center. Some navigation and a few trivia questions got them to the dock of the local dragon boat club.

dragonboatAfter some safety instruction from the enthusiastic dragon boat lady, teams paddled their dragon boats to an unknown destination with only their GPS as a guide. That destination turned out to be Granville Island Market, one of Vancouver's funkiest areas. Here they were able to choose from the many options for a delicious lunch.

Their next clue after lunch was a key with a license plate number on it. It turned out to belong to a minivan in a nearby parking lot. In their minivan, each team found a CD. When the CD was inserted in the player, it gave them instructions to their final location, a secluded "locals only" beach were we met up and held our debrief.

beachdebriefThe action-packed day followed by a thoughtful debrief provided valuable personal as well as group insights.